# A pre-employment skills test I build from your first week ELVINA · A SKILLS CHECK BEFORE HIRING An interview rarely shows whether someone can count a till or follow a safety step. I build a short practical check from first-week tasks. Every candidate gets the same job-related check, with reasonable accommodations on request; the result is one input with the interview, and you decide who gets an offer. Digital employee (AI) A free 30-minute demo on Zoom. The people behind me show you how I'd handle your goal and agree on the next step with you. - Built from your first week - The same job-related check for every candidate - You decide how the result is used ## What a resume and a chat miss ### “They interview well and fail in week two.” The check asks about the work itself: a few scenarios from the job. ### “Each manager tests differently.” One check per role, scored one way, so results are comparable. ### “Online tests measure things we don’t do.” Every question comes from your tasks, and the person who knows the job approves it. ## From your early tasks to a check before the offer In its guidance on employment tests, the EEOC says employment tests should be properly validated for the positions and purposes for which they are used, and updated as job requirements change. ### The tasks, listed What a new hire must handle alone early on, and which of those you expect people to know already. ### Questions from the job I draft practical questions and short scenarios for what you will not teach. You remove any that only a trained person could answer. ### An interview guide Follow-up questions tied to the same tasks, so every finalist hears the same ones. ### By link, before the offer Candidates take the check from a link. You go over their answers with them before deciding. ### Check the check After a few hires we compare results with how people did on the job and rewrite questions everyone gets wrong. Before using results to exclude applicants, validate the assessment for its intended use, review adverse impact, and provide reasonable accommodations where required. ## A cleaning crew that hires every month You said: "Half our new cleaners are gone within weeks. I want to stop guessing at the offer." I start with what goes wrong first. Example · cleaning company, crew members - Mon Your crew lead talks me through what goes wrong in week one - Tue 12 questions drafted: product safety, order of work in a room, a client at home - Wed You remove 2 that only a trained cleaner could answer and decide how the results will be used - Thu Interview guide approved. The check goes out by link - Next week You go over answers in the interview and decide whom to offer jobs to ## Who does what ### You Approve the questions, decide how the result is used and who gets an offer. ### Your crew lead Explains what goes wrong early and reviews the questions. ### Candidates Take the same check from a link before the offer. ### Me Draft the check and the interview guide, and rewrite questions that don't predict job performance. The check can't tell you whether someone is honest or on time; references and a trial shift do. Whom you hire and what you pay stay with you, and your lawyer answers any question about a specific hiring rule. ## What working with me takes ### You send The tasks a new hire handles in the first week, and a short talk with the person who does them well. ### You get A practical check for candidates, an interview guide and a way to compare results with how hires do on the job. ### Your time We agree up front how much of your time the interview and approvals take, and what else you and your managers do. How the result is used and the offer are yours. ### Who helps I prepare the materials. My team sets me up, supports your account and runs your demo. A person confirms every meeting and every payment. Example · skills check, cleaning crew ### Before the offer: crew member ## Questions owners ask about skills tests before hiring **Q:** How do I create a pre-employment skills test for my business? From the tasks a new hire must handle alone early on. I draft practical questions and short scenarios for what you expect people to know already, and you remove any that only a trained person could answer. Every question comes from your tasks, and the person who knows the job approves it. **Q:** How do I keep a pre-employment test consistent for every candidate? One check per role, scored one way, so results are comparable. Every candidate gets the same job-related check, with reasonable accommodations on request, and an interview guide ties follow-up questions to the same tasks, so every finalist hears the same ones. Your lawyer answers any question about a specific hiring rule. **Q:** What can't a pre-employment skills test tell me? Whether someone is honest or on time; references and a trial shift do. The result is one factor considered alongside the interview: you go over each candidate's answers with them before deciding, and you decide who gets an offer. ## Related goals and pages ### Goals - [Train the ones who apply](/goals/cant-find-qualified-staff) - [Give strong people a path](/goals/stop-hiring-weaker-than-you) - [Hiring more people for one role](/solutions/growing-a-role) - [All business moves](/goals) ### Industries and pricing - [Cleaning services](/for/cleaning-services) - [Staffing](/for/staffing) - [Pricing](/pricing) - [Hiring](/elvina/hr-recruiter) Job-post drafts, skills checks and interview guides · first calls and interview booking: planned, not available today - [Training](/elvina/learning-team) Procedures, lessons, quizzes and onboarding - [Growing people](/elvina/people-development) Skills matrix, mentors, a bench for new locations ### Next reads on skills checks and the first months - [An employee skills assessment you can repeat](/outcomes/streamline-assessment-cycles) - [A skill ladder for people hired for attitude](/goals/hire-for-attitude-train-for-skill) - [Milestones and owners for a new hire's first months](/goals/first-90-days) ## Sources Public sources, checked on the date shown. - EEOC guidance on employment tests: “Employers should ensure that employment tests and other selection procedures are properly validated for the positions and purposes for which they are used.” Employers “should keep abreast of changes in job requirements and should update the test specifications or selection procedures accordingly.” Source: [EEOC, Employment Tests and Selection Procedures](https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/employment-tests-and-selection-procedures) (checked 2026-10-25). ## Tell me the task new hires get wrong first. I'll turn it into questions for candidates. A free 30-minute demo on Zoom. The people behind me show you how I'd handle your goal and agree on the next step with you. No launch date is committed for planned features.